The present invention is directed to a conveyor belt cleaner and tensioner assembly including a conveyor belt cleaner having a plurality of scraper blades adapted to scrape adherent material from a conveyor belt and a conveyor belt cleaner tensioner for resiliently linearly biasing the scraper blades into scraping engagement with the conveyor belt.
Conveyor belt cleaners are used to remove material which adheres to the surface of a conveyor belt after the material has moved past the discharge point of a conveyor. During use the scraper blades of the conveyor belt cleaner wear due to their scraping engagement with the conveyor belt and eventually require replacement. Quick and easy replacement of worn scraper blades is desired to reduce maintenance costs and to reduce conveyor down time. Scraper blades are biased into engagement with the conveyor belt by one or more tensioners such that the scraper blades engage the conveyor belt with a desired amount of force to maximize cleaning efficiency. A linear tensioner maintains the scraper blades at substantially a constant angle with respect to the conveyor belt to maximize cleaning efficiency. However, it is also desirable to allow the scraper blades to rotate away from the conveyor belt when obstructions on the belt, such as mechanical belt splices, are encountered by the scraper blades.